Glorious Noise Boards

Lollapaloser?

Lollapaloser?

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:18 pm

by Mixmaster Shecky

Anyone else not thrilled by either the Lollapalooza or Pitchfork lineups this year? Sure, there's good stuff there (Deadmau5, The Mountain Goats, The Kills @ Lolla, and Guided By Voices, Neko Case, Animal Collective @ Pitchfork) but overall I can't say I'd willing to fork over hundreds of $ for the privilege.

Wither the huge music festival?

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:24 pm

by miss carol

I think the answer is a mash up of the good stuff, and leave the irony to rust in the rain. The are some decent acts at Lolla and handful at Pitchfork, but the rest is dross. .

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:23 pm

by steve-o

I noticed the same thing. There's several bands I want to see at Pitchfork, but nothing to justify the plane ticket and time off work. Sasquatch's lineup was phenomenal this year, but I waited too long to get tickets. Maybe the problem is not the festivals, but that we're all old bastards who aren't into what they're offering anymore.

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:54 pm

by jonas

I dunno...

Explosions in the SkyTitus AndronicusThe Joy FormidableGirl Talk

...plus the others listed would be enough to keep me occupied.

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:42 pm

by miss carol

Could be age, but I don't remember there being so many festivals when I was "of age." And even then I didn't go mainly because it was expensive. There are a LOT of bands for $215, so I suppose it's worth it on a per act basis, but it still seems like a lot to lay out even before you get there.

I don't see any live acts these days. I went to a friend's book launch two weeks ago that featured live bands. I lasted till 11:00 when boredom set in and I began to fade. That's what you get when you're a freelancer working seven days a week. That said I have a gratis ticket to Daniel Lanois in two weeks. I hope I can stay awake for that.

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:33 pm

by steve-o

miss carol wrote:That said I have a gratis ticket to Daniel Lanois in two weeks. I hope I can stay awake for that.

Is it Black Dub or Daniel Lanois? If it's just Lanois solo, I am jealous and I hate you and you should definitely try everything necessary to stay awake because it will be amazing. If it's Black Dub- eh, not so much.

With regard to festivals in general, I think I'm just losing my patience for standing in a large crowd of stinky, sweaty people for long periods of time, paying $9 for beer, and standing in line to go the bathroom, for food, and pretty much everything else. There's a few local/regional festivals I'll check out this summer, but I'll probably hang out for a little while, see the handful of bands I want to see and then retreat somewhere quiet and out of the sun.

That said, if I lived in or near Chicago, I would definitely check out Lollapalooza. And I would likely grumble about being stuck in a crowd of stinky, sweaty people, paying $9 for beer and standing in line for the bathroom, but still...

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:20 pm

by miss carol

steve-o wrote:Is it Black Dub or Daniel Lanois? If it's just Lanois solo, I am jealous and I hate you and you should definitely try everything necessary to stay awake because it will be amazing. If it's Black Dub- eh, not so much.

Black Dub. I did see Lanois do a solo bit at Nuit Blanche late last October: atmospheric performance ourtdoor installation that would have worked for me had I got there to see it properly. After I missed out on that, I wanted to see his solo stuff; this free show might the closest I get for a while.

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:16 pm

by Sugarcubes Forever

I think the anti festival thing has to be tied to age. I wouldn't waste my time and money going to one these days unless the line-up was really incredible, and/or the venue and set-up was a whole lot different.

I remember going to Lolla in the 90s when it was an actual tour and not an annual festival. It was really really exciting, but mainly because I would have never had the opportunity to see all those bands, some of which would have NEVER toured into my neck of the woods. There was no internet back then, you couldn't connect with those bands in any way other than listening to their music or seeing them perform live. So seeing a huge tour of "alternative" bands was such a big big deal. It just isnt' that big of a deal anymore. I can go on line and see live video of all of these bands. And most bands tour clubs quite a bit these days.

The other thing for me is that the alternative music scene used to be a community. It was an underground thing that you chose to be part of. I am reminded of seeing New Order or Depeche Mode in the late 80s and being amazed that there were so many freaks like me in one place. It was a big deal and it made going to those big shows worth it. But that doesn't exist anymore. People buy their uniforms at the mall and all this shit is just more consumption.

The idea of been penned-in with 100000 other people and financially raped for bottled water is obsurd as well. The fact that everyone's glad handing each other all day after using porta johns (that lack running water to wash hands) just plain grosses me out too.

I'm much more down with the type of get togethers that allow overnight camping, RVs, etc. At least then you can bring some personal space with you.

These days I have the money to spend on tickets for the bands I want to see when I want to see them. No need to sit through all that hassle

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:24 pm

by Jake

I went to the first two Lollas in 1991 and 92. And I've gone to it every years since it became a destination fest in 2005. I've enjoyed it every year. Yes, there are a lot of knuckleheads in the crowd. Sometimes they even shove you or spill beer on you. Sometimes adorably wasted teenage girls in halter-dresses brush up against you. You take the good with the bad. Buy the ticket, take the ride.

The thing I've discovered over the recent incarnation of Lolla is that I'm always blown away by something I wasn't expecting. Over the years, I've had transcendent moments with Saul Williams, Matt & Kim, Deerhunter, Kanye West, the Strokes, and many, many more. The best thing is just walking by something that catches your ear, wandering over to it, cross-referencing your schedule to see who it is, and finding out it's some band that you had totally blown off for some bullshit reason that makes absolutely no sense.

It helps, of course, when it's in your own backyard, and you can take the train or a cab back to your bed. This will be my first Lolla since I moved from Chicago. We'll see how the experience differs.

But I'm looking forward to it. Here are some of the bands I'm looking forward to: Wye Oak, Smith Westerns, the Kills, Mountain Goats, Bright Eyes, OK Go, Girl Talk, Black Lips, Ween, Cee Lo, Eminem, Titus Andronicus, the Cars, Best Coast, Arctic Monkeys. But the thing I'm looking forward to the most is stumbling across something great that I'm not looking forward to at all.

Re: Lollapaloser?

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:23 pm

by Mixmaster Shecky

Jake wrote:The best thing is just walking by something that catches your ear, wandering over to it, cross-referencing your schedule to see who it is, and finding out it's some band that you had totally blown off for some bullshit reason that makes absolutely no sense.

That almost convinces me to go. The only thing for me is, add another $200 on for travel and I'm not that rich. I suppose it will boil down to work and how much $$ I can save.

Also, we should totally all pitch in and get a GloNo cabana thingy. Except how strict are they on drug use?